Paying it forward

U.S. job creation accelerated in April, trimming the unemployment rate to a 50-year low of 3.6 pct. Yet wage growth remains modest and other data suggest slack in the labor market. Employees getting less than their historical share is the price for keeping the recovery going.

Context News

Total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on May 3. The gain was more than the 185,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters, and compared with an average monthly increase of 213,000 over the previous 12 months.

The unemployment rate declined to 3.6 percent, the lowest level since December 1969. Average hourly earnings were up 3.2 percent from the same period a year ago, unchanged from the previous month.

The biggest job gains in the latest month came in professional and business services, construction, and healthcare. Manufacturing employment was little changed for the third month in a row.